A Home for Stateless People

Hi! It's good to see you again. Are you ready for another short visit to Info Island International? I want to show you someplace special today.

Before you say anything ..... yes, I'm blonde. When I got up this morning, I decided to wear this nice green dress, which you haven't seen before, and it just felt like a dress to wear with blonde hair. I don't know why ... it just did. I love the way you can make decisions like that in SL.

Anyway, here's the special place. It's the Bridge of Stateless People.

My good friend Hypatia developed the concept. It is a magnificent suspension bridge, spanning a quiet lake in the extreme northwestern corner of the island. In a sense, it is an architectural metaphor for the challenge of reaching across the gap between people, or perhaps connecting people who have no home to the lands on either end of it. However you want to interpret it, Hypatia designed it as an homage to that people who have no nation or lands to call their own.


Let me back off a distance and let you see the whole thing from the air.


That's the welcoming area just beyond the far end of the bridge. It has changed a lot since our visit there a little over a month ago, so I'll have to take you back again. Beyond it is a new social center, where we will also need to visit some day. To the right, next to the ALS headquarters building, is the large Fusion Stage, which we use for performances. And out of the picture to the left is Info Island, where the main libraries are.


So, let's walk across. Walk slowly, though, because every few meters there is a conspicuous blue ball, begging for our attention. This one says "Resources on the Stateless." If you click on it, you will get a bibliography of articles and URLs where you can explore the topic of stateless people carefully.


The next ball offers information about the Hill People of Thailand. Beyond that are similar balls for the Roma, Palestinians, Kurds, and other people who have no uncontested homelands in the world.


Other balls on the bridge explore the concept of statelessness itself. "What does it mean to be stateless?" "Can a stateless person be a refugee also?" "How many stateless people are there?"


On this island, where we celebrate the many languages and cultures of the world, this bridge reminds us not to forget that there are cultures and languages that have a shadow existence, and whose people are often ignored or rejected by the world community.


Looking back from the east end of the bridge, we see the China Cafe and, beyond it, the sim owned by San Jose State University.


It's an impressive park, don't you think? When I lead people on a walking tour of the island, I like to end here. More than any other single region on Info Island International, this park makes me contemplate what it means to have a culture, and to belong to the world community.


As I said when you arrived today, this is a special place.



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You can find this strapless dress in my shop on Elysian Isle. It's called, simply, "Ivy Sun Dress." I went a little nuts creating the fabric. It's a soft spring green, covered with ivy ... very restful ... just the dress for a bright, spring afternoon. What you're going to love most, though, is the way the skirt flows. It's actually two skirts: a solid flexi underskirt and a filmy overskirt that almost move together, but not quite. They look wonderfully soft as you walk and ... oh, you have to see what this dress looks like when you dance! Very feminine. ;-)